Jack London
1216 Telegraph Ave.
Oakland, Cal.
Dec., 17, 1903

Dear Marshall,

Lo and behold! I am just reading your letter of Oct., 12th.
About that time I jammed my unopened mail into a gun case and pulled out on a duck hunting cruise of six weeks. During this cruise, of course, I opened my gun-case correspondence and ansered it. Then I was home for a few days. During which time the gun-case remained on the yacht. Last Monday pulled out on another cruise. Am now in lower end of [San Francisco] Bay near Alviso.
To-day my partner, cleaning guns, discovered your letter, crumpled up at very bottom of case where it had been jammed by the gun. It is a miracle that it was ever found. Might have remained there for years. Yes, Buck was based on your dog at Dawson. And of course Judge Miller's place was Judge Bond's even to the cement swimming tank and the artesian well.
And don't you remember that your father was attending a meeting of the Fruitgrowers Association* the night I visited you, and Louis was organizing an athletic club** - all of which events figured with Buck if I remember correctly. As you say you expect to be in SC [Santa Clara] for Christmas I'll mail you there.

Hope to see you soon. Have received a couple letters from Del Bishop, and Charley Meyers looked me up recently.

Sincerely yours
Jack London

P.S. Was it a boy?***

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* The California Cured Fruit Association founded by my greatgrandfather Judge Hiram Bond. Hiram's brother Elmer was an officer of The New York Produce Dealers Assoc. and recommended Hiram go into the prune business. The largest export market for the CCFA was Germany. The CCFA went bankrupt due to oversupply in 1901 and was reorganized as The California Prune Board which still exists. The Mansion is now a Carmelite Nunnery
**The Garden City Ahletic Club of San Jose
*** This refers to Richard Marshall Bond Sr born Nov., 5th, 1903